Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is giving priority to the development of ports in the state, he said.

The chairman, along with Kakinada MP Vanga Gita and MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhara Reddy, inaugurated the dredging works in the anchorage port.

Venkata Reddy said the previous governments treated the anchorage port as a source of income, but they did not bother about its development.

For the benefit of fisherfolk, nine shipping harbours in the state are being developed, out of which five harbours have been completed and about to be inaugurated, he said.

Gita said efforts would be made to provide workers safety, insurance, electricity, etc. Some 75 per cent of the construction works for the ESI hospital at Kakinada have been completed and the hospital would be ready by May 31, 2023, she said.

Dwarampudi Chandrasekhara Reddy said the dredging for the anchorage port, construction of new jetties, etc are being taken up in the anchorage port, and global recognition to the anchorage port would come soon.